Thursday, October 14

Nine Things I Learned at the BlogHer Food '10 Conference

I recently returned from BlogHer Food '10 where, as expected, I met fabulous new friends, connected with fabulous old friends, and ate fabulous food. A few unexpected things happened too.

Here are nine things I learned at BlogHer Food '10:

1. While attending an informative session on food styling, an attendee asked, "What can I do to make brown, gloppy food like beef stew look good?" The panelists' collective reply: Nothing. After the laughter subsided, Tami Hardeman of Running With Tweezers offered this advice: Surround ugly food with pretty props: a colorful bowl, a funky spoon, or a textured napkin. Never underestimate the power of sprinkled parsley.

2. Next time you're creatively stymied, stop everything and go for a walk. That's what baking goddess Dorie Greenspan does when she needs to spark her creativity. "It works every time!" she told me.

3. David Leite of Leite's Culinaria told us it's OK to say "no." Working for free or for minimal payment isn't furthering bloggers' careers. Say "no," and most times, they'll come back with a better offer.

4. The dazzlingly down-to-earth Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, reminded her audience that you can't be everything to everybody. Choose the media that best suits your talents: Are you a word wizard? Write. Do you come alive in front of the camera? Do video. Do you have great interviewing skills? Hello, podcasts.

5. The talented and beautiful Anupy Singla, author of The Indian Slow Cooker, understands that many home cooks are intimidated by Indian spices and cooking. So she created spice packets, small bundles of 5 essential Indian spices, that will get anyone cooking Indian. Demystify something for people, and they will love you. They'll also buy your book.

6. Diane of the darling White on Rice couple told bloggers that "Great food photography isn't about fancy gear; it's about light." She encouraged us to walk around our homes to find the best sources of natural light for food photography, even if it's in the bedroom, or -- GASP! -- the bathroom.

8. Katie Goodman of Good Life Eats, who has a mega-watt smile, taught me to always carry a WISP, a single use mini toothbrush, in my purse. When you're on a panel after lunch, like I was, you want people to remember what you said, not what you ate.

9. The food gods appreciate irony. While at BlogHer Food '10, I received a call from my doctor informing me that I tested positive for celiac disease. Not only can I no longer eat pasta and pizza, but I also have to change my Twitter bio, which currently reads, "I eat gluten."

50 comments:

Susan, again, so great to meet you. It was a great weekend wasn't it?! Almost too much for me to process. So sorry to hear about your celiac disease, that is a bummer, but I have to admit it made me giggle that you actually had it right out there that You eat it and now you can't. Irony. Life. Interesting. Hang in there. At least you know of some great blogs you can go to right?

Oh my goodness, Susan! I had to read that last "learning" a few times to be sure I read it right. I guess in a way it's good news insofar as you can start on the road to feeling better. Wow. And you know plenty of folks to help with eating gluten-free.

Hi Susan,I didn't get a chance to meet you at BlogHer, but after reading this post, I warmly welcome you to the world of gluten-free living! If you need any help, please let me know -- there are a lot of emotions that you may be feeling right now (people don't usually expect this!) I'm here if you need someone to talk you through it.~ Alison

Hugs on the celiac diagnosis. I remember wondering why you had I eat gluten in your twitter bio and assumed that perhaps you had thought you could not eat it and then found out you could. I am so sorry to hear it is the opposite.

While I tested negative for celiac's, an arduous elimination diet showed gluten was the reason behind my joint pain and at least some of my digestive distress. I first worked with eliminating it 18 months ago, did several reintroductions/attempts to eat non-wheat grains/other approaches, and then finally gave up and went 100% gluten-free in April, complete with banning gluten from our kitchen (my husband occasionally eats gluten-containing products at home, but he is very careful of crumbs etc, and stays away from the kitchen), cleaning out every crumb in every drawer etc. Honestly, it has made a huge difference. The joint pain is gone, the stomach distress is far improved, and on top of that, I am no longer losing hair (which my doctors thought was related to some thyroid problems, but which thyroid medication did not help, while going gluten-free did!)

So, while I am so so so sorry to read the diagnosis, it really does get better. And please feel free to stop by my blog if you want some gluten-free inspiration :)

Nice way to sum up what I imagine was a whirlwind of a time! And just so I know, when exactly IS the right time to walk away from the Scharffen Berger table? This is very important!And my heart goes out to you with your new celiac diagnosis. It's certainly a game changer! Lots of hugs. And if you have questions - anything at all - let me know! I'll do my best to help. You do have the advantage of having a lot of gluten-free bloggy friends. There are some blogs out there that are a wealth of information for the newly diagnosed. And you have a gift in the kitchen - that gives you a definite advantage!

Agreed with Strawberry CaKE - the resources you have to deal with it now are just getting better and better all the time! Though not celiac, I went GF for my daughter 2 years ago and it seemed like a huge adjustment at the time, but now it's just second nature and I don't feel deprived at all. Pick up GFG's new book if you haven't already!

Anyway, I'm sure greater experts than I can help you out much more. :O)

Excellent wrap post Susan. Meeting you was certainly a highlight of my BlogHer experience. I cannot believe you got that call from your Dr. at the conference. Crazy huh?!Great tips you share with us. I do hope my teeth were clean for my panel. Geesh.xopsst-stop on by my place to leave a link with this re-cap- -if u wish :)

It was great seeing you again Susan! I loved reading your post!Sorry to hear about the no gluten but being celiac is just fine. You'll see. We eat pizza, pasta, bread, etc...even desserts :)Call on your celiac friends (like myself) to help out.

Excellent recap! Aah yes - I have been caught trying to photograph food in the bathtub! Time to get some alligator clips and a piece of foam core for more lighting options! It was wonderful to see you and I loved dinner at Contigo. The food was delicious but the company was even better! I can't wait to see you in Austin, if not before. xoxoxo

I wish I'd realized you were there! We've tweeted plenty, but never met. I'm so sorry about the celiac, but some of my bestest friends are gluten-free (@fourchickens, @sensitivepantry) and have taught me that celiac is not a life sentence to bad food.

One comment on the brown food - at Big Summer Potluck, the food stylist there, Melissa, said that brown food looks best on off-white, cream, or tan crockery. Since learning that, I've had much better luck with my brown food.

I guess I'll have to add you to the gluten-free blogger count I kept adding to on Twitter while at BlogHer Food. That makes 27 of us there. You really were tempting the gluten gods with that bio. Wish we could have met, too.

LOL at the WISP mention!!! Lunch was so fun. :) Sorry to hear about the Celiac, but looking on the brightside - there is no better time to go gluten-free than now. So many amazing resources! We thought Logan might have to go gluten-free earlier this year. It turned out that his test came back negative, but just knowing there were real people with doable solutions out there made it so much less stressful to go through the possibility. *hugs*

strawberrycake-Oh, so great meeting you too! Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you giggled. ;)

kathy-Seriously. Looking forward to seeing you too. Will plan an SD foodie meet-up!

alison-How remarkably kind of you. Thank you so much.

wendy-I LOVE carbs.

valerie-Thank you for sharing your story with me. I am overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness that GF people have shown me. I too had many symptoms that were attributed to other causes, but now it looks like it was celiac all along. I'm optimistic that I'll be feeling better too. I'm so happy to hear you're doing better. I truly am.

I am so looking forward to seeing what you will do with the new medical condition. My son has been struggling with this since he was born, and I am always following blogs for creative ways to go gluten free. It will be a huge adjustment - good luck, and hope that you start to feel better!

Susan, it was so lovely to meet you there! I loved reading through your post - there were so many wonderful people there with so much to share. Even though it may be a shock, congrats on being diagnosed. It will be more than worth it :). Plus, even just on this post, you have a handful of us (myself included) that will help with whatever you're struggling with. Getting the gluten out gave me so much more than just a new way of baking. Hope you feel better soon!

Hi, Susan! What a great recap and your pics are lovely too. So many smiling faces.

Really great to meet you this weekend. I hope our paths will cross again too - I'd like to continue our cookbook conversation.

Very sorry about the Celiac diagnosis, but one good thing is the strong and wonderful GF blogging community. They kind of adopted me at the BlogHer Food lunch last year and they are such a fantastic, supportive group. Lots of good info out there and I know you'll make the best of it.

I'm with Wendy, I'll surely miss your wonderful carby Italian recipes but I know that with your creativity and the gluten-free alternatives, you'll be back to sharing an even better way to cook and eat soon. Congrats on the books, by the way! Something tells me the "recipes every man should know" is going to grace my holiday gift list this year.

Loved reading your Blogher sum up and the tips. My heart goes out to you, after being diagnosed with CD. It was a life changing for me because I depended on gluten foods so much. Now I live a life free of pain! There are an abundant amount of resources also. You can do it! :)

Thanks for recap, Susan. I still wish we had had a moment to connect. So sorry to hear about the celiac - luckily you are in a community that can share a lot of wisdom on it. And knowing you, you'll soon be one of the sages.

Wow you snuck that shocker in there! I'm sorry for your loss and/or whatever discomfort you've had to endure this far...but I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time experimenting and discovering gluten-free food. Have been silently reading here for months, and I love your blog...much love.

Great post! I learned something just from reading it! I'm sorry about the celiac diagnosis. On the bright side, at least you know and can do something proactive about it. I'm looking forward to many more blog posts and mouthwatering recipes!

Celiac?? Susan, that's really sad. However, if anyone can manage that disease you can. At least you have a handle on what's been causing issues for you. Glad you had fun at BlogHer. Looks like it was a celeb filled event!

Sorry to hear about the celiac diagnosis - though I am sure you will find (and share) lots of great ideas.

You will probably already in touch with some great gf bloggers. I am not a celiac but I have celiacs in my family so I wrote a post about it this year that you might like - Advice for Gluten Free beginners and kids.

Susan, it was so nice to finally meet you at the conference. I just can't believe your celiac disease diagnosis! I guess there's never been a better time to go gluten-free, though, with all the gluten-free products and cookbooks out. Maybe you will post about your new cooking methods? Take care!

Well, I was certainly surprised to scroll down this post and see myself staring back! It was really nice to meet you, Susan. I enjoyed chatting with you on the way to the Ferry Building. Thanks for being so welcoming.

And, so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It must be quite jarring. I'm glad that it's something you can have a sense of humor about, and as many have said, there have been far worse times to be diagnosed with this disease. I think point #1 I took away from the conference was an awareness about celiac disease and the strong community that exists among gluten-free cooks and writers. Wish you the best.

wow celiac disease! I'm not sure if you remember but one of the first recipes I gluten-freed came from your website. You'll be an expert in no time! Pop over and have a browse if you need any help/recipes :)